"Joshuall" wrote in message
...
No no no .... here's tha real deal upfront and straight.
For years "experts" have been telling us if we cut the line when we gut
hook a fish the hook will rust out in a few days or weeks or months.
Remember that mularky? Now we all know that's a load of crap and studies
proved it. But it made us all feel better about one of the simple downside
risks to fishing e.g. a few fish will pass on to the big pond in the sky.
Now some study someplace by some other "expert" has come up with another
theory. Just because an animals brain is small doesn't mean he can't feel
pain. Who says so ? Anybody ask him? Throw any living creature's ass ina
boiling pot of water or stick a spear through it several times and tell
them it dont hurt ! Baloney. This is just a matter of common sense not
science. Remember boys . . . science brought us the famous "The Earth's
Flat so beware of how far from Rome you plan your vacation" And . . ."Sun
. .. we don't need no stinkin Sun...WE'RE the center of the universe" Who
needs this kind of nonsense to overt any guilt trip or ward off any fear
of Peta ?
***It's not the size of the brain, it's the development of said brain as
well as how developed the central nervous system is. In the case of fish
and worms, the developement just isn't there. This has been proven in
several studies. I'll have to see if I can find them. In my case, I don't
need a study to ward off PETA ramblings.
Speaking of Peta. Well it's obvious they're a bunch of radical block
heads who will have as much effect on our sport as a fly on a cows ass
(and remember cows don't swat at every one of them that lands there)
Again common sense . . . How much revenue is generated by this industry in
the course of a year (just in this country)? Over a Billion a year in
Illinois alone and we're not anywhere near the top of that list. How many
jobs depend on the sport fishing industry. . . think about it. Boats,
tackle , tourism etc etc. Does anyone really think congress or any other
state legislature will give a white rats butt if a skewered worm can feel
it ? Just a bunch of hooey in my book. Peta is just the cause de jour as
far as I'm concerned and hardly worth the taps on these keyes when it
comes to the issue of sports fishing.
***Unfortunately, I'll have to disagree with you there. It's not just a
matter of revenue generated, it's political popularity. There's a lot of
anglers and hunters for certain, but then again, there's even more that
don't fish or hunt. It's those people that PETA are appealing to, the ones
that either don't fish/hunt or are ambivilent to the activity. If PETA can
use emotional response, whether there's any sound, scientific or rational
reasoning to sway people, they certainly will. If this emotional response
can bring those around to their cause (and that happens with alarming
frequency), then those are lost to fishing/hunting. And those people vote.
So, if a politician wants votes, he/she is going to attempt to appeal to the
largest voting block. That in turn translates to having a direct impact on
OUR activities.
A classic case in point (while off topic somewhat) is the spring black bear
hunt in Ontario Canada. The Spring Black Bear Hunt was a very popular
activity in Ontario, both with residents and with visiting hunters. It was
a great source of income for many Canadians and a great source of revenue
for the Province of Ontario. The figure that I heard was in excess of 30
million dollars each and every spring.
There was no sound biological or game management rational to stop the spring
bear hunt. Yet, a group of people that objected to that spring hunt put
enough political pressure on the "powers that be" to cancel the hunt. So,
even though Canadian wildlife biologists said that there were sufficient
numbers of bears to continue the hunt, that there was potential for harm to
the resources, that there would be increased human/bear conflicts, that many
would suffer from the consequences of eliminating the spring hunt, through
lost revenue and jobs, the "bunny huggers" got their way and there is no
longer any spring bear hunting in Ontario.
Now, several years after the ban, the consequences are being realized.
Black bear populations in Ontario are at record highs, human/bear
interactions and complaints are too at a record high. Research has found
that cub mortality is increasing due to male bears killing cubs, more cubs
are killed every spring from bears than from excited hunters!
Resorts/lodges/outfitters have gone out of business directly due to lost
spring revenue and hunters that used to come to Ontario every spring are
either not coming at all or have switched their base of operations to
Alberta or Manitoba where spring hunts are still a reality. Business loss
has been noted at motels, hotels, gas stations, grocery stores and to the
Fish & Wildlife agency due to lost license sales.
Even though all of this is documented, the bear hunt has not been reinstated
because the anti's still hold a large voting block.
So, don't think that just because fishing is big business, it will be left
alone. There are far too many examples existing today that prove otherwise.
Emotions and votes still rule!
Causing pain is a downside of the sport. Sometimes fish get foul hooked,
sometimes anglers get hooked, sometimes people fall out of their boats.
The question is does the downside outweigh the upside and I'm bettin all
of us here are gonna say no. So. . .
fish with lures, don't foul hook and stay away from seafood dammit. g
***You don't have a problem with that, but what about someone that is
sitting on the fence relating to fishing? I don't know of any sane
individual that likes to deliberately inflict pain. Someone that isn't sure
about fishing might become aligned against it if they think that it causes
pain, after all, who wants to inflict pain for fun?
Whenever I'm talking to someone that questions me as an angler, I always
make sure to, in a nice fashion, explain to these misguided individuals that
because a fish's brain/nervous system is not sufficiently developed, that
the reaction that a fish gives to being hooked is not pain, but reacting to
the tethering effect of being attached to a line.
We all have to be active spokesmen and advocates of our sport. Remember
that famous saying, "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large
groups." Never before in history has this been more true.
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com